Gridley's Quota Club well represented at district level

Wednesday

Jul 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Lisa Van De Hey

For 77 years, the Quota Club of Gridley has been an integral part of this area and enjoyed many successes along the way.
The membership may have changed some over the years, (although there are two members who have been active 40 years and one member 50,) but the general outcome of service to the community remains the same.
Quota International is transitioning or restructuring into regions instead of areas and districts and it is because of this change that Gridley was allowed to have three members sit on the District Board to help with the big change over the next year.
Governor Pam Scott will have some input as to how the regions are set up in the future especially when it comes to standing rules, conducting the meetings and the formation of new bank accounts.
She will help to keep members in the district up to date as those items are decided.
Gridley's current District 36 is comprised of Gridley, Oroville, Paradise and Eureka.
The new region will stretch from Alaska to Northern California.
Scott's aspirations don't stop at Governor as she would like to be a Director of the Region eventually.
As Governor, Scott will visit each club in the District to communicate any concerns for Quota International and to initiate the use of emails more to help reduce the ever increasing cost of travel. Travel has been a big portion of expenses for Quota International over the years and they are seeing the benefits of spending less on travel of the district boards and being more cost effective.
Scott had the honor of carrying the American flag at last Julys International convention in Hawaii. She also escorted the new International President in for her installation.
The Gridley club is one of the largest in Quota International and no doubt one of the most successful at fund raising. It is a common bond for this group of 52 women – to raise money for the community especially the youth.
This is a very close group and they are successful because of their passion to raise money as service to the community.
Members are quick to point out that money raised at their successful Wine Tasting in October and Salad Luncheon in May each year goes back to this community.
Smaller fund raisers such as jewelry and See's Candy sales goes to traveling costs to International conferences for the current president.
Another fund raiser, the Quota Thrift Shop is another avenue to bring money back to the community. All proceeds there are used locally whether it is for high school sports uniforms, books for students or helping the local American Legion Traveling Baseball Team just to name a few. The list of benefactors receiving financial help from this club, including scholarships for area students, is endless.
The Quota Club of Gridley prides itself on being hands-on, not just a club that writes checks. This club continues to be stronger as is evident when attending any of their successful fund raisers. Members spend many, many hours in the planning stages and strive to make each event better than the last.
As Lt. Governor, nine year member Kari Wheeler will focus on growth development with new clubs in Chico and Tempe, AZ during her reign. She even plans on starting a Junior Quota Club at Gridley High. Past Presidents Debbie Dowd and Carolyn Erickson are in charge of starting this club for teenagers and Wheeler will oversee the group.
District Secretary/Treasurer Jennifer Sepulveda is not new to her job as this is her second year at this level.
Making sure the districts financial records balance will not be a problem but she will be responsible for the district finances to be closed out and start over at the region level. Sepulveda served as Secretary/Treasurer when fellow member Peggy Harshbarger served as Governor and Scott was Secretary/Treasurer when Cindy Davis served as Governor after Scott served as Lt. Governor herself.
Scott and Wheeler have been Quota members since 2004 and Scott was hooked when she saw the impact that Quota makes at the international level, especially in the Philippines.
“Service takes on a different meaning when you can make it happen. When a request came in for $500 to help with a roof for a woman's sewing business there, I knew I had to join this club. The lady was teaching others how to sew. I would have written a check myself if they hadn't,” she stated.
“To hear the stories of the third world countries that have nothing it makes us feel so good to be able to help make it better for women especially,” Wheeler agreed.
The three women will travel together to clubs in their district which will save on expenses (except for their personal expenses when they can't pass an antique shop) and they will help pass fund raising ideas around amongst the clubs.
Another fund raising project which is done every other year is the “Boys of Quota” Calendar which not only raises serious cash, it also brings many men out of their shells.
The popular “Quota Cares The Cowboy Way,” service day for special needs children at Wheeler Ranch was such a good idea fellow Kit Valley, Washington club stole the idea and did almost as well.
The Gridley club won recognition and awards for this special project at the district and International level.
“We were flattered when they stole our idea and did very well each year,” Wheeler stated.
To reiterate the fun that this group has, it recently took five of the club members 10 hours to reach Eureka for a conference because they had to stop at every antique shop along the way.
As Quota International transitions from Areas and Districts to Regions, each of the members understand the importance to evolve and make the clubs better.
For more information on Quota International visit www.quota.org.
Quota Clubs also focus on the children who are hearing and speech impaired.
“We appreciate everyone who supports our Wine Tastings, Salad Luncheons and Quota Thrift Shop because without them, we could not do all that we do locally,” Sepulveda stated.

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